The present invention related to an ultrasound imaging system win which the scan head includes a beamformer circuit that performs far field subarray beamforming or includes a sparse array selecting circuit that actuates selected elements. When using a hierarchical two-stage or three-stage beamforming system, three dimensional ultrasound images can be generated in real-time. The invention further relates to flexible printed circuit boards in the probe head. The invention furthermore related to the use of coded or spread spectrum signaling in ultrasound imagining systems. Matched filters based on pulse compression using Golay code pairs improve the signal-to-noise ratio thus enabling third harmonic imaging with suppressed sidelobes. The system is suitable for 3D full volume cardiac imaging.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving the image data with the second stage beamformer device from the first stage beamformer device that includes a first plurality of subarray beamforming elements that are connected to the ultrasound processor housing with a cable.
3. The method of claim 1 further comprising operating the second stage beamformer device that includes a digital beamformer.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising actuating the control circuit to control a transmission, by the transducer array, of a modified square wave with a suppressed third harmonic.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising configuring the one-dimensional array or two-dimensional array of transducer elements having subaperture arrays such that a region of interest is sequentially scanned by directing one or more beams in different directions.
7. The method of claim 1 further comprising using the transducer array elements that are connected with a flexible circuit having the first beamformer device mounted thereon.
8. The method of claim 1 further comprising operating the ultrasound processor housing having the system controller, the display, and the data processor weighing less than 15 lbs.
9. The method of claim 1 further comprising connecting the handheld probe housing having a plurality of flexible cables with a transducer subarray to a circuit board.
10. The method of claim 1 further comprising operating a plurality of circuit boards, having at least one of the first plurality of subarray beamformers, a memory that stores beamformer control data and a multiplexor circuit within the handheld probe housing.
11. The method of claim 1 further comprising operating a flexible circuit in the handheld probe housing.
12. The method of claim 11 further comprising configuring the flexible circuit having a flexible cable.
13. The method of claim 11 further comprising configuring the flexible circuit having a flexible printed circuit board.
14. The method of claim 1 further comprising associating a matched filter having a plurality of weights with stages of a delay line.
15. The method of claim 2 further comprising compressing each beam in the first plurality of subarray beamformers.
16. The method of claim 1 further comprising operating the second stage beamformer device with a plurality of digital beamformers.
17. The method of claim 1 further comprising operating the first plurality of subarray beamformers using a charge domain processor.
18. The method of claim 1 further comprising performing an ultrasound imaging procedure with a-scan conversion and Doppler processing of ultrasound signals with the data processor.
19. The method of claim 1 further comprising configuring the transducer array having a 128 element 1D subarray having eight adjacent elements.
20. The method of claim 19 further comprising connecting 128 connection input/output cables to connect the handheld probe housing to the ultrasound processor housing.
21. The method of claim 1 further comprising: integrating sixteen subarray processors having 8 programmable delays within the transducer probe; and connecting a front end integrated transducer probe to the ultrasound processor housing using 16 cables.
22. The method of claim 1 further comprising operating a low power transmit circuit, and a AC/DC converter within the handheld probe housing.
23. The method of claim 10 further comprising configuring the multiplexor circuit with a high voltage switch connecting a cable to a transmit element during a transmit period and to a receive element during a receive period.
24. The method of claim 10 further comprising amplifying a receive signal detected by the transducer array.
25. The method of claim 1 further comprising configuring a separate transmit element and a separate receive element.
26. The method of claim 25 further comprising operating the separate transmit element formed with a first transducer material and the separate receive element formed with a second transducer material.
28. The system of claim 27 wherein image data is processed with the second stage beamformer device from the first stage beamformer device that includes a first plurality of subarray beamforming elements that are connected to the ultrasound processor housing with a cable and wherein the second stage beamformer device that includes a digital beamformer.
29. The system of claim 27 further comprising a low power transmit circuit, a high voltage switch integrated circuit and a AC/DC converter within the handheld probe housing wherein the one or two dimensional array of transducer elements having subaperture arrays such that a region of interest is sequentially scanned by directing one or more beams in different directions and wherein the ultrasound processor housing having the system controller, the display, and the data processor weighs less than 15 lbs.
30. The system of claim 27 wherein the first stage beamforming device comprises an integrated circuit.
31. The system of claim 27 wherein the second stage beamforming device comprises an integrated circuit.
32. The system of claim 27 wherein the control circuit and the first stage beamformer device are mounted on a circuit board in the handheld probe housing.
33. The system of claim 27 wherein the second stage beamformer device is within the ultrasound processor housing.
34. The system of claim 27 wherein the handheld probe housing further comprises a multiplexor that switches between subarray elements during an ultrasound imaging procedure.
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January 20, 2023
October 1, 2024
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